The present invention concerns a system for recovering lubrication oil from a Diesel engine air box and returning same to the engine crankcase.
In two cycle Diesel truck engines lubrication oil migrates upwardly along cylinder walls and eventually enters the engine air plenum, termed air box, from which it is vented overboard usually onto a roadway. With piston and ring wear the problem becomes more serious and it is not uncommon for several quarts of lubricating oil to be vented in this manner overboard during an eight hour period of engine operation. To a truck operator such an oil loss can constitute considerable expense particularly when viewed from a fleet operation standpoint. A further consequence of such overboard venting of oil is that oil entering the slipstream moving past an engine is carried onto trailer surfaces resulting in more frequent washings of same than would otherwise be required. Similarly, it is not uncommon for trailer carried loads to be contaminated with such oil. Further, in excessive cases, the venting of oil overboard from a two cycle Diesel engine additionally constitutes both a nuisance and a hazard to the motoring public with airbourne oil resulting road film and may expose the truck operator to penalties under various environmental regulations.